What Prisoners Create When They Create Art

Massachusetts prisoners use art to assert themselves into life beyond their prison cell.

This is the second in a three-part series about what Massachusetts prisoners do online. Today we look at the intersection of art and language. Or, you can read Part 1: What Massachusetts Prisoners Blog About.

For 32 years, James Riva, 55, has been incarcerated at Old Colony Correctional in Bridgewater, Mass., serving a life sentence for murder. Riva says he collects 300 to 400 four-leaf clovers every summer and dries them. â€śThey bring no good luck or badâ€ť but they give him some â€śpeace,â€ť he writes at betweenthebars.org, the blog founded by two MIT whiz kids.

In one of Rivaâ€™s 12 or so posts, he wrote a short story about a disturbing relationship between a mother and son that includes the details of a brutal crime. But while his haunting words paint an image, the artwork that accompanies the story shows the mystery, power, and transcendence of art. Perhaps influenced by Vincent Van Goghâ€™s Starry Night, it hasnâ€™t received a comment yet, but when it does, Riva can interact with the outside worldâ€”online.

Creating art and sharing it with the world is a way for prisoners to assert themselves back into humanity. As Supreme Court Justiceâ€™s Thurgood Marshall wrote about prisoner rights: â€śWhen the prison gates slam behind an inmate, he does not lose his human quality â€¦ nor is his quest for self-realization concluded.â€ť

In a paper titled, â€śMediative Collaborative Positioning: The Case of Prisoner Blogs,â€ť researchers Mirjana Dedaic and Katherine Dale write that blogs â€śopen a new spaceâ€ť for prisoners while giving them the chance to challenge their confinement by â€śstepping beyond the barsâ€ť into cyberspace. There, they can be educators, critics, analysts, storytellers, and in the case of art, they’re seen for their talent instead of for their crimes.

Luis Perez, also in prison for life, is incarcerated at MCI Gardner, Mass., and often uses art to transmit a message. His art is fanciful while his message is deadly serious:

Perez has received comments from activists about his writing and art. â€śJâ€ť replies: â€śA lot of what you said really resonated with me and my experience. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.â€ť

Art Behind Bars is not new, but posting art online has allowed prison artists to share their work to people all over the world. Lois Ahrens from Northampton, Mass., maintains a website at realcostofprisons.org, where she receives more than 750,000 unique visits a year and has pioneered posting prisonersâ€™ comics.

With 25 comics at realcostofprisons.org/comix/barrett, Jacob Barrett evokes the power of an image to decry imprisonment and injustice. He also has a website, maintained by loved ones, where he posts: â€śI am in search of people who will free my mind of this hold, even though my body will remain restrained.â€ť

Another pioneer in Massachusetts is Jason Lydon, director of Black and Pink, whose website features LGBTQ artists with their profiles and posted art. Black and Pink connects LGBTQ prisoners to allies on the outside and also has a newsletter filled with the reality of being behind bars and being LGBTQ.

One artist, who calls herself â€śBillie Jean Starâ€ť says on black and pink art: â€śMy mind is constantly formulating new ideas even in my dreams during actual sleep. Thatâ€™s why I call my artwork â€śDaydream Productions Ltd.â€ť Because they represent only a few of my constantly repeated, conscious imaginations.